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What are the most populous Muslim communities in London as of 2025?
Executive Summary
London’s most populous Muslim communities remain concentrated in a handful of boroughs: Tower Hamlets and Newham lead in absolute numbers, with Redbridge, Brent and other east and north London boroughs also holding large Muslim populations based on the 2021 Census and subsequent borough-level estimates through 2025. The available, recent administrative datasets point to continuity rather than dramatic redistribution between 2021 and mid‑2025, but precise 2025 counts rely on Greater London Authority updates and Annual Population Survey estimates rather than a new census [1] [2] [3].
1. What the claims say — a readable tally that drives the debate
Multiple analyses claim Tower Hamlets contains the largest Muslim community in London by share and in absolute numbers, with Newham very close behind; Tower Hamlets recorded 123,912 Muslims and Newham 122,146 in the 2021 Census and Tower Hamlets had the highest percentage share at about 39.9% [1] [4]. Other boroughs repeatedly cited as having substantial Muslim populations include Redbridge (about 97,068 Muslims in 2021), Brent [5] [6], and several east and north London boroughs such as Hackney, Haringey, Barnet and Enfield; these borough-level rankings are drawn from census tabulations and local authority profiles [1] [7]. The claim that east London is a focal point for Muslim communities is consistent across sources, which emphasize Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Turkish populations particularly in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney [7] [4].
2. What the most recent sources add — method and date matter
A July 28, 2025 Greater London Authority dataset on Population by Religion, Borough provides the most recent administrative frame referenced, but the summary notes the dataset is based on the ONS Annual Population Survey rather than a new headcount; the dataset was available in mid‑2025 but the extracted analyses do not reproduce its borough totals here [3]. The 2021 Census remains the baseline for absolute counts and relative shares widely cited in these materials; the Office for National Statistics’ 2021 figures for London show Muslims made up 15% of Greater London’s population, totaling roughly 1.32 million in the capital at that time [7] [8]. Statista and other secondary compilations reiterate London’s role as the region with the largest Muslim population in England and Wales, but those pieces often rely on pre‑2021 estimates or require paywalled detail [9].
3. Where sources agree and where they diverge — reading between the borough lines
All sources agree on broad patterns: Tower Hamlets and Newham are among the top boroughs by Muslim population, east London is a core area, and London overall has the highest regional Muslim population in England and Wales [4] [2] [9]. Divergences appear in emphasis and currency: some pieces foreground percentage share (Tower Hamlets’ nearly 40% Muslim share), others list raw counts (Tower Hamlets 123,912; Newham 122,146), and 2025 administrative updates from the GLA hint at modest changes but do not overturn the 2021 pattern in the summaries provided [1] [4] [3]. The reporting also varies in naming specific ethnic concentrations — Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Turkish and Arab communities are all highlighted in different boroughs depending on the source [7] [10].
4. What changed since 2021 — growth, geography, and data limitations
Census-to-annual‑survey comparisons suggest the Muslim population in England and Wales grew substantially between 2011 and 2021 (an increase of about 1.16 million, per the 2021 Census reporting), and London retained disproportionately large numbers and diversity of Muslim residents in that period [11] [8]. The 2025 GLA dataset signals ongoing monitoring via the Annual Population Survey rather than a new census, meaning borough-level estimates for 2025 can change modestly due to migration, birth rates and survey sampling variability; the supplied analyses indicate continuity rather than dramatic borough-level reversals [3] [8]. Key limitations are explicit: the last full census is 2021, and mid‑2025 figures come from surveys and administrative updates that can differ in method and margin of error from the 2021 headcount [3] [9].
5. Bottom line and what to do next if you need firm 2025 figures
Based on the available, recent sources, the most populous Muslim communities in London as of 2025 remain Tower Hamlets and Newham by absolute numbers, with significant populations also in Redbridge, Brent and other east/north boroughs. For a definitive 2025 borough ranking, consult the Greater London Authority’s July 28, 2025 “Population by Religion, Borough” dataset and the ONS Annual Population Survey releases; these hold the model‑based borough estimates that update the 2021 census baseline [3] [1]. If you need verified 2025 counts for planning or research, request the GLA borough table or ONS APS outputs directly and note the different error structures compared with census counts [3] [7].